Viking Kara

The 2014-built Longship Viking Kara cruises on the Danube, Rhine and Main rivers in Holland, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria, departing from Amsterdam and Basel.

This Viking longship is named after Kara - in Norse mythology, one of the Valkyries (warrior goddesses, also known as "swan-maidens"). Led by goddess Freya, the Valkyries ride into battles armed with spears. They choose who lives and who dies. Dead warriors were accompanied by the Valkyries to Valhalla – the “hall of the slain” in Asgard under the rule of Odin, the god of all gods.

The boat (ENI number 7002000) is currently Switzerland-flagged (MMSI 269057477) and registered in Basel.

Cabins

Viking Kara has a total of 95 cabins (of which 9 Suite, 22 French Balconies, 25 with a non-opening window) in 8 grades. Three-quarters of Viking Kara cabins feature either a French balcony or a full veranda, and suites have both. Explorer Suites offer 270-degrees view of the river and beyond. Viking cruise ship Kara carries 190 passengers who benefit from the comfortable amenities like flat-panel 40” Sony TVs and in-room refrigerators. 

Cabins Types/Categories (number, location), high to low

• Suites - ES (x2, deck3), AA (x7, deck 3)
• Balcony Staterooms - A (x20, deck3), B (x17, deck2)
• French Balcony Staterooms (with floor to ceiling door-windows) - C (x5, deck3), D (x15, deck2)
• RiverView Staterooms - E (x18, deck1), F (x7, deck1).

Shipboard facilities

Viking “green” ships feature solar panels, hybrid energy-efficient engines and organic herb garden. Don't forget to try the putting green and the walking track, or have a rest in the library corner. There is also an onboard boutique, laundry service and free wireless internet service shipwide.

Viking Kara dining options include Kara Restaurant (dining room) and Aquavit Terrace (al fresco). The Aquavit Terrace is at the ship’s bow, and offers an opportunity for indoor and outdoor relaxation and dining, with floor to ceiling windows. The Sun Deck shaded sitting area provides an ideal environment to enjoy the changing scenery while you cruise. Onboard amenities also include an Observation Louge, Atrium (lobby), Library (Internet), Shop (gifts, souvenirs), Sky Bar, Herbal Garden, putting green, walking track, shuffleboard. The Kara longship doesn’t have a gym room, pool, jacuzzi, spa.

Viking Kara cruise deals are inclusive of Internet (Wi-Fi), all tours/excursions, ground transfers, live evening entertainment, daily lecturers, food and wine tastings, 24-hour coffee/tea, replenished daily bottled water.

Viking Kara river cruise prices are per person and based on double occupancy. These are only indicative of Viking cruise rates. They might be different when you book your Viking River Cruises Europe cruise tour deals, influenced by travel agency promotions, special offers and discounts, group travel booking or last-minute deals rates. On some Viking Kara cruise tours, the line offers round-trip USA airfare discount deals (on select cabins or itineraries/dates).

River Cruise Itineraries

Follows the list of Viking Kara river cruise itineraries as themes, officially announced by the Viking Cruises line:

• "HEART OF GERMANY” are 6-days Main river cruises from Frankfurt to Nuremberg and the reverse from Nuremberg to Frankfurt. These deals offer 6 complimentary land tours/excursions. Also included in the fares are bus transfers Frankfurt to Heidelberg (for a full-day excursion), Wurzburg (full-day tour, bus travel to Rothenburg, embarkation in Gerlachshausen), Nuremberg (overnight dock). Optional luxury hotel packages are offered for Germany (2-night Nuremberg or 2-night Cologne/Koln) and Czech Republic (3-night Prague).
• "ROMANTIC DANUBE" are 7-days cruises from Nuremberg to Budapest and reverse from Budapest to Nuremberg/Nurnberg. These deals offer 3 countries to visit (Austria, Germany, Hungary), with 6 complimentary land tours/excursions. Disembarkation in Nuremberg offers optional 2-night Nuremberg or 3-night Prague hotel packages. On departures from Germany (Nuremberg) the sailing part starts on the second day with the Main-Danube Canal cruise (passing through the locks) and ends in Budapest (optional 2-night hotel package).
• "RHINE GETAWAY” are 7-days river cruises from Amsterdam to Basel, and the reverse from Basel to Amsterdam, with 4 countries to visit (Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland) and 6 complimentary land tours/excursions. These deals include disembarkation in Mannheim (for the Heidelberg tour and embarkation again in Speyer) and disembarkation in Kehl for the Strasbourg tour. Disembarkation in Amsterdam offers optional 2-night Amsterdam hotel package.

Note: You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.

To/from Viking Kara boat transfers and airport meet&greet services are included in the fares only when airfares are purchased through the Viking cruise line.

Viking Kara is one of the latest generation Viking Cruises longships. This is a new (patented) Viking river cruise boat design allowing bigger accommodations without the need to shrink public areas size and to compromise the vessel's general comfort. The Viking ship Kara represents the line's latest Longship-class riverboat design. Viking Cruises longships feature energy-efficient hybrid engine technology, solar panels and interior design by "Yran & Storbraaten" (Norway). The patented "longship" design ("Rottet Studios", USA) allows much larger passenger accommodations with full-size balconies. The additional cabin space is created by 1 m (3,3 ft) off-centre shifting of the deck's corridor.

The riverboat's godmother is Mrs Laura Pfleumer - corporate client assistant at UBS AG (Switzerland's biggest bank and financial services company), managing Viking Cruises' daily bank operations. The ship's christening ceremony was held in Rostock, Germany. On March 18, 2014, Kara was inaugurated together with the Viking longships Hlin, Idi and Kvasir.

Note: You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.